IPv6 Deployment Series Part 1: Hierarchical Subnetting Design

RYAN HARRIS?| Sr. Network Engineer?

This is part one of a series on the practical deployment of IPv6. This series will step through the various considerations needed to take your organization from a working IPv4-only network to a functioning and optimized dual-stack v4 and v6 network and move towards an IPv6-only network.?

To learn more about why your organization needs to deploy IPv6, read the previous post: “Why Tech Execs Should Be Pushing for The Adoption of IPv6.”?

The first step to successful IPv6 deployment is developing an IPv6 subnetting plan. Specifically, we want to define a hierarchical plan that allows us to meet the following goals:?

• Provide a consistent plan for all divisions of the network?
• Is flexible and provisioned large enough to allow for unforeseen changes in network design?
• Allows easy decryption of the location and purpose of the subnet prefix?
• Allows for efficient route summarization?

Before putting pen to paper on your subnetting design, start off by taking stock of your existing network topology. Note your segmentation strategy, physical topology, existing IPv4 subnetting strategy, and network design.?

Read more on the BlueAlly Blog ?